bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Out of curiosity I did some comparison shots this morning using the new Lomo Jupiter-3+ and some vintage glass I own. Perhaps some people might find this useful.
Note: my testing parameters were quite relaxed. I really just wanted to compare the qualities of these lenses. The ambient light changed slightly during my test, so I apologize in advance for the small differences in lighting between photos.
CAMERA: Leica M 240
Settings: ISO (auto), WB (auto), in-camera JPEG @ 24MP, default colorspace / sharpening etc.
The camera was set on a tripod about 100cm from the grey card. Focus was on the star pattern on the card. LiveView was used to verify focus.
The test images below have been resized for convenience. No editing was done except for slight cropping and image resizing.
Jupiter-3 and Zeiss Opton Sonnar were mounted to the camera using an Amadeo Contax/Leica adapter.
LENSES:
(1) New LOMO Jupiter-3+ (2016)
(2) original Jupiter-3 (early 1960's)
(3) Zeiss Sonnar (post-WW II)
(4) Nokton ASPH (current model)
Why did I use these particular lenses?
Primarily because they were the ones that I had on-hand. Plus, they're all the same focal length and feature the same maximum aperture.
On to the photos!
IMAGE #1: Lomography Jupiter-3+ @ F1.5
IMAGE #2: original (early 1960's) Jupiter-3 @ F1.5
IMAGE #3: Carl Zeiss Opton Sonnar (post-WW II) at F1.5
IMAGE #4: Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH @ F1.5
VERDICT:
1. As I suspected, the new J-3+ shows slightly higher contrast and sharpness than the original J-3.
2. The original J-3 has a cooler overall color profile than the other lenses. It seems to render the image very slightly towards the blue/green. At least that's what my copy seems to do.
3. The Nokton provides excellent contrast and sharpness even wide-open...superb performance from a modern lens design.
4. Setting up lens tests like this is a good way to waste a couple of hours.
5. None of these lenses is "poor". They all have their positive points. The original J-3 and Zeiss Opton have the "dreamiest" quality when shot wide-open, the modern J-3+ a bit less so.
Note: my testing parameters were quite relaxed. I really just wanted to compare the qualities of these lenses. The ambient light changed slightly during my test, so I apologize in advance for the small differences in lighting between photos.
CAMERA: Leica M 240
Settings: ISO (auto), WB (auto), in-camera JPEG @ 24MP, default colorspace / sharpening etc.
The camera was set on a tripod about 100cm from the grey card. Focus was on the star pattern on the card. LiveView was used to verify focus.
The test images below have been resized for convenience. No editing was done except for slight cropping and image resizing.
Jupiter-3 and Zeiss Opton Sonnar were mounted to the camera using an Amadeo Contax/Leica adapter.
LENSES:
(1) New LOMO Jupiter-3+ (2016)
(2) original Jupiter-3 (early 1960's)
(3) Zeiss Sonnar (post-WW II)
(4) Nokton ASPH (current model)
Why did I use these particular lenses?
Primarily because they were the ones that I had on-hand. Plus, they're all the same focal length and feature the same maximum aperture.
On to the photos!
IMAGE #1: Lomography Jupiter-3+ @ F1.5
IMAGE #2: original (early 1960's) Jupiter-3 @ F1.5
IMAGE #3: Carl Zeiss Opton Sonnar (post-WW II) at F1.5
IMAGE #4: Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH @ F1.5
VERDICT:
1. As I suspected, the new J-3+ shows slightly higher contrast and sharpness than the original J-3.
2. The original J-3 has a cooler overall color profile than the other lenses. It seems to render the image very slightly towards the blue/green. At least that's what my copy seems to do.
3. The Nokton provides excellent contrast and sharpness even wide-open...superb performance from a modern lens design.
4. Setting up lens tests like this is a good way to waste a couple of hours.
5. None of these lenses is "poor". They all have their positive points. The original J-3 and Zeiss Opton have the "dreamiest" quality when shot wide-open, the modern J-3+ a bit less so.
